Tatar evaluates Bishkek contacts to AA
Date Added: 07 December 2023

President Ersin Tatar has said that the acceptance of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) as an observer member to the Organization of Turkic States is an expression of its existence as a state.

Tatar emphasized that this is an important step towards recognition, highlighting that relations with Kyrgyzstan will gradually develop, leading to further cooperation in the future.

Evaluating his contacts in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek to the Anadolu News Agency, President Ersin Tatar described his visit as meaningful and positive.

“Relations with Kyrgyzstan will develop slowly. Everything has a beginning. This beginning will lead us to more cooperation in the future,” he said.

He said that he had briefed his Kyrgyz counterpart on the latest developments on the Cyprus issue and had emphasized the potential for cooperation with Kyrgyzstan in the fields of education, tourism, trade, and the economy.

“The TRNC is the representative of the Turkic world at the southernmost point, in the Eastern Mediterranean” Tatar said, adding that there is Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and the Republic of Türkiye at one end and the TRNC on the other.

“The TRNC is an island. When it combines with the rights and laws of the Republic of Türkiye in the seas and skies, the TRNC and the Turkic world can open up to the Mediterranean. There are great riches in the Mediterranean. There are natural resources that other nations are trying to possess. Why should we give these away to others? These are our rights and laws. In that sense, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is very important. The TRNC is the representative of the entire Turkic world in the Eastern Mediterranean’s southernmost point,” Tatar added.

The president also underscored the extraordinary importance of the TRNC becoming an observer member of the Organisation of Turkic States last year.

He stated, “Our acceptance as an observer country in the Organisation of Turkic States is an expression of our existence as a state. It is a step on the path to recognition.”